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''Hydro Thunder Hurricane'' is a boat racing video game developed by Vector Unit and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade. The game was released on July 28, 2010 as part of Microsoft's Xbox Live Summer of Arcade promotion. It is the sequel to ''Hydro Thunder'', originally an arcade game and part of the ''Thunder'' series. It was also released onto the Windows Store. Gameplay in ''Hurricane'' involves players selecting one of nine boats to race through over-the-top scenarios. Players can collect boost powerups throughout a course which are used to increase the speed of the boat, jump over obstacles, or unlock shortcuts. The game comes with three single player and two multiplayer modes, some of which are new to the series. ''Hydro Thunder Hurricane'' received generally positive reviews, averaging 79% at GameRankings and 75 out of 100 at Metacritic, two video game aggregate sites. Critics generally praised the varied qualities of the different boats, the diverse arcade-style courses, and the game's overall replay value. The game has sold an estimated 321,000 copies as of end-of-year 2012, with the ''Tempest Pack'' expansion reaching just over 38,000 units in sales in that same period. ==Gameplay== ''Hydro Thunder Hurricane'' is an arcade-style boat racing game, and the sequel to ''Hydro Thunder''. Gameplay involves players selecting one of nine boats to race through one of eight courses. The primary mode of gameplay involves a sixteen competitor race to the finish line. As with ''Hydro Thunder'', players can collect boost powerups throughout a course which physically transform the boat into a more aggressive-looking form. Once transformed, players can use acquired boost to increase the speed of the boat temporarily, or to jump over obstacles. The game's eight tracks are (in order): Lake Powell, Storming Asgard, Monster Island, Tsunami Bowl, Lost Babylon, Paris Sewers, Seoul Stream, and Area 51. ''Hurricane'' continues the ''Thunder'' series tradition of hidden shortcuts and alternate routes in courses. Some routes can be found by simply driving towards them or smashing through an obstacle, while others require the player to drive over green powerups which lower gates or raise ramps. Players earn credits by winning races. These credits serve as points which automatically unlock additional gameplay elements, such as boats, skins, new courses and game modes.〔 Players can choose to race a given mode and track additional times to earn more credits. The game also adds three additional single-player game modes in which to compete. 'Ring Master' removes all AI racing competitors and places a sequence of rings throughout a given course. The objective is to drive through as many rings as possible in the shortest amount of time. 'Gauntlet' also removes AI competitors, but replaces the rings with explosive barrels littered throughout the water. Players must complete the course as quickly as possible while avoiding the barrels.〔 'Championship' mode is also new to the series, and pits the player in a mixture of tracks and modes. ''Hurricane'' also features a number of multiplayer scenarios. Up to four players can complete via splitscreen against each other and twelve AI competitors.〔 Players can also use any combination of splitscreen and Xbox Live players to play online with up to eight players.〔 Track times are recorded on leaderboards for players to compete against. In addition one multiplayer-exclusive mode was added, 'Rubber Ducky'. In this mode one player on each team pilots a boat in the shape of a rubber duck. The remaining boats on each team try to protect their team's duck while keeping the other team's at bay, with the winning team being first to get their duck across the finish line.〔 Multiplayer races feature a "loser helper" powerup system. Instead of "1X" and "4X" boost powerups, muliplayer races feature only one type of boost powerup. This powerup is dynamic, awarding players leading the race with less boost, while those in the rear are awarded more boost. This is to create a more aggressive race, and to allow those with less skill to enjoy racing along with more competitive players. Vector Unit explained the decision further on their blog. "If players -- especially new players -- are too easily frustrated, they just say screw this and drop out, which reduces the number of players and the number of available online games."〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hydro Thunder Hurricane」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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